The Opposite Sex
by Panamint
Summary: We all know how proud Ben is of his three boys. Well, ever wonder how he'd feel with three GIRLS? I did, and maybe I shouldn't have... you decide.


The Opposite Sex

Written 5/16/04 to 5/18/04

Disclaimer: Well, you can't have everything, now can you?

_I know it's been done before, but here's MY version of what might have happened if Ben's boys had turned out to be Ben's girls. It's kinda spooky... maybe I should have waited for Halloween to post this..._

Ben Cartwright awoke that morning to the pushing and prodding of his youngest daughter, eight-year-old Josephine.

"Come on, Pa, wake up!" she cried impatiently. "We was gonna go fishin' today! Get up, Pa!"

"Okay, okay. I'm up—and we _were_ going fishing today," Ben corrected gently.

"Of course we was. Dontcha remember?" Josephine said.

Ben sighed, sat up and looked down at the dirty little girl before him. He chuckled slightly and shook his head. Here it was, hardly daylight, and his youngest was already a mess. Her braids were coming apart; the previously yellow dress was now smudged with brown and there was a large rip in her stockings.

"You'd better go get yourself cleaned up, Little Jo, or Hop Sing will have a fit," Ben told her.

Little Jo sighed. "Oh, okay," she mumbled, and hurried off to change into a clean dress.

When Jo left, Ben got dressed and came downstairs. His other two daughters, Addie and Erica, were already there to greet him. And they were both clean.

"Morning, Pa," they both said in unison.

"Morning, girls," Ben replied. "Is your sister down yet?"

"No," said fair-haired Erica. "But I heard her running around up there just a moment ago."

"That's because I told her to go change. She was a disaster," Ben informed his middle daughter.

He turned to Addie and, in a slightly annoyed tone said, "I told you to keep an eye on your youngest sister this morning, Addie."

No answer.

"Addie?"

Addie shook her head, as if she had been daydreaming. "Sorry, Pa," she apologized. "What did you say?"

"I said that you were supposed to be watching Little Jo this morning. When she woke me up, you'd never have been able to tell her dress was yellow under all that mud."

"Oh... sorry, Pa," Addie said again.

Ben sighed. "Alright, out with it," he said.

"Out with what, Pa?" asked Addie innocently. She was twisting a strand of raven-black hair around her index finger—a clear sign that she was getting a little nervous.

"You've been daydreaming almost non-stop lately. You're usually so attentive and alert. There must be something wrong," Ben explained.

Addie looked down at the table again. "Well... I was just... thinking..."

"What about?"

"About college..."

Ben sighed a second time. Lately, Addie had expressed a desire to go back east and further her education. That would have been fine by Ben, except that there weren't any colleges back east or anywhere else that accepted young ladies, even if they were as smart as Addie Cartwright.

Ben walked over to his oldest and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you'd really love to go to college, sweetheart, but you've got to understand that they just—"

"—don't allow girls," Addie finished. "I know, Pa, I know, but it's just not fair. Why shouldn't I be able to get a college degree just because I'm not a boy?"

Before anybody could answer, there was a loud thundering sound from upstairs. A door slammed and Little Jo came pounding down the stairs in a fresh green dress with lace trim.

"JOSEPHINE, how many times must I tell you NOT to run down the stairs like that?!" Ben yelled. "You're going to hurt yourself one of these days!"

"Sorry, Pa!" Jo said as she sat down at the table.

"That's all I've been hearing lately," muttered Ben. It seemed to him as if the only daughter who didn't give him any trouble was Erica. And even she could cause minor problems due to her large size, and especially when Little Jo talked Erica into her crazy schemes, and on top of that, Erica had been in more than one fight at school, mostly when the other kids teased her little sister. But Ben knew that, no matter how much trouble his daughters were, he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world—not even sons.

""""""""""

The fishing trip went smoothly, except that Jo fell in the water once, dirtying her dress again. But all the Cartwrights had caught at least three fish each, making everyone happy.

The first thing Ben saw when he came downstairs the next morning was a piece of Addie's pink stationary propped up against the back of the photo of Elizabeth—Ben's first wife—on his desk. Wondering why it was there (the note, not the photo, although why he shouldn't wonder about the latter is beyond me because photography wasn't invented until after Elizabeth's death), Ben picked up the paper and read:

Dear Pa,

I know you'll be very angry when you read this, but I boarded a stagecoach early this morning and am now on my way to college. I can't tell you how I was accepted, but I can tell you that I am going through with this no matter what. It has been my dream to go back east and attend a university there for years and now my dream is finally coming true. Please don't worry about me; I will write as soon as I arrive at my new school. I hope you understand.

Your loving daughter,

Addie

Ben stood there for a moment, dumbstruck. How could this be? He had known that Addie wanted to attend college, but he hadn't realized she wanted it badly enough to run away from home!

Just then, Erica came down the stairs with a worried expression on her face.

"Pa, Little Jo ain't in her room," she said.

"Well, that's just fine!" Ben bellowed, shocking Erica. "First my eldest runs off to college without so much as a good-bye and then I discover my youngest can't stay put either!"

"Addie's run off ta college?" repeated Erica. She whistled and added, "I knew she wanted ta go, but not THIS bad!"

"Yes and Little Jo probably found out and got the brilliant idea to follow." Ben checked the clock. "If I hurry, maybe I can catch up to Addie's stage before she does something she'll regret."

"Can I go too, Pa?" asked Erica hopefully.

"No, it'll require some pretty hard riding, and besides, I want you here if one or the other of them comes to her senses and comes back," Ben answered. He strapped on his gunbelt, put on his hat and stormed out the door.

""""""""""

Addie adjusted her hat one more time. It felt so strange to be wearing a boys' hat, more so now that she had cropped her long, silky black hair into a boyish cut.

_At least the pants are comfortable, _she thought positively.

Addie had been devastated when she learned that girls weren't allowed in any colleges in the entire country. After years of dreaming, all those dreams had been shattered in that one moment. But only a few years after this let-down, Addie decided that, if the colleges wanted a boy, she would be a boy. And, as soon as the college had accepted her application, she had packed her things and set off in the dead of night.

Addie knew her father would be angry—no, furious—when he found out, but since he had followed his dream, Addie figured—or rather, hoped—that he would understand her decision to leave.

Just as she thought she might get away with this little masquerade, a little upside-down head appeared in the window of the stagecoach. Luckily, Addie was the only passenger aboard to stare at the girl in pigtails that had just appeared out of nowhere.

"Hi!" the head said cheerily. The braids were hanging limply on either side of the head.

"JOSEPHINE!" Addie yelped in shock. "What in heaven's name do you think you're doing here? Upside-down? On a moving stagecoach? In the middle of nowhere?!"

"I could ask you the same thing... well, except for the upside-down part," Jo replied, still wearing that huge, winning Cartwright smile.

"Get in here before you kill yourself!" Addie demanded, her old role as big sister kicking in.

"I have bad news for you," Jo said.

"What?"

"I can't! I'm stuck!"

Addie sighed, grabbed the swaying pigtails and, with a good hard yank, pulled Little Joe into the stagecoach.

"Yow! Did ya hafta do it like that?" Jo moaned. She rubbed the sides of her head where Addie had pulled.

"Serves you right. Just what do you think you were doing?" Addie asked again.

"I got up real early cuz I thought I heard someone moving around and I saw the note on Pa's desk and I got on my horse and I snuck into your trunk and I felt the stage movin' so I climbed out and here I am... and you are gonna be in _big trouble_ with Pa when _he_ finds out!" Jo said in a rush.

"You didn't tell him or Erica, did you?" asked Addie in alarm.

"Naw, I kept your secret," said Little Jo.

Just as Addie was about to sigh in relief, her sister added, "Because I'm coming with you!"

"Oh, no you're not!" Addie insisted. "As it is, I'll have to pay your fare on this stage. Then I'm giving you some money and you are going straight home!"

"If I go home, I'll run into Pa," said Jo. "And if I run into Pa, he might _accidentally_ find out where you are."

"But I'm not coming back until I finish college, and that's four years from now!" Addie cried. "You can't stay in the east for four years!"

"Four years?!" Little Jo exclaimed. She hadn't planned on this turn of events. Jo had thought that Addie would be at college for a few months, not a few years! But she couldn't turn back now, so instead she said, "Well, if I can't stay in the east for four years, then neither will you."

Addie groaned. "Pa is going to kill me."

"He woulda killed you when you got back anyway," Jo piped up happily.

Addie groaned again. This was going to be an excruciatingly long four years.

""""""""""

The two eastern-bound travelers had been riding the bouncing stagecoach for nearly three hours when the skies suddenly became dark and cloudy. Within five minutes, it began to pour.

"Boy am I glad I'm in here instead of your trunk," Little Jo said, peeking out the window.

"Personally, I wish you were back home in your bed," Addie mumbled.

"Really?" Little Jo asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Because I can go back, ya know. But if I do, I'll run into Pa, and Pa might _accidentally_—"

"—find out where I am. I know," sighed Addie. How was she supposed to go through college and keep an eye on her sister for four years?

The stage jolted violently.

"Hold on, sir," the stagecoach driver called, still blissfully unaware of Little Jo's presence. "This is gonna be a mighty bumpy ride."

"You don't need to tell me," Addie said under her breath. She grabbed a tight hold of Jo and braced herself against the side of the stage as it jolted again. Despite Addie's best efforts, Jo went flying to the opposite side. She yelped.

"You okay, Jo?" asked Addie, beginning to feel some genuine concern for her very annoying sister.

"I'm fine," answered Jo in stand Jo Cartwright fashion.

All of a sudden, the stage jolted a third time. There was a snap and a yell from the driver as the stage began to tumble down a steep hill.

Addie and Little Jo screamed.

""""""""""

"NO!" Ben cried. He had caught up with the stagecoach just in time to see it topple over the hill. He could plainly hear the terrified shrieks of his two daughters inside.

Ben urged his mount, Buck, to follow the stage down the hill. Buck was a little hesitant at first, but he obeyed and they were soon a mere yard away from the stagecoach wreck.

The first person Ben saw climbing out of the stage, much to his relief, was Little Jo. She was dirty—again—her dress was torn in more than one place and she looked a little dazed, but she was alive.

Ben dismounted and ran over to her.

"I'm fine, Pa," Jo answered before her father asked the question. She glanced back into the stage and said, "But I dunno where Addie is. I guess the door opened and Addie fell out when we was tumblin' down the hill."

"When you _were_ tumbling down the hill," Ben sighed.

"Of course we was. Didncha see us?!"

"Never mind. Let's find your sister."

As if on cue, there was a low groan from the other side of the stage that was hidden from the view of both Ben and Little Jo. Jo hopped out of the stage and onto the ground as Ben hurried around the back to the source of the groan.

There was Addie. He would have recognized her anywhere, even with her new haircut and boyish clothes. Ben knelt down next to the still form of his daughter.

"Addie," he called softly. "Addie, can you here me? Addie... Addie... Addie..."

""""""""""

"Pa! Pa, wake up!" Adam said, shaking his father's arm a little. He had awoken only a few moments earlier to the sounds of someone yelling. Thinking that it was Little Joe, he had checked on the nightmare-prone youngest Cartwright, but he was sound asleep—with the blankets on the floor, as usual.

Adam then realized it was coming from Ben's room, so here he was, trying to wake up his Pa.

"Pa!" Adam called again.

Ben woke with a start and saw his eldest _son _looking back at him.

"Adam!" Ben cried. "You're a boy!"

Adam stared at Ben as if he had grown another head. "Of course I'm a boy," he said after a minute of confused silence. "I've been a boy for the past twenty years. I should hope you knew that."

Ben shook his head. "I do... now... Adam, but I just had the most awful dream."

"From what I heard, it must have been. And who's Addie?"

"Addie?"

"You were yelling her name in your sleep," Adam explained.

"Oh. That was you."

"WHAT?!"

"Sit down, Adam. It's a long story..."

The End

Excuse me... ::runs off:: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! ::comes back:: Thank you. That was the scariest thing I've ever had the pleasure of writing. :-D Anyway, reviews are very much appreciated, especially because I don't get very many ::hem, hem::


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